


The Tale of a Mad King

by Veronicadreamurr29



Category: Original Work
Genre: F/M, Mental Instability, Romance, Sad, tragic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24098542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veronicadreamurr29/pseuds/Veronicadreamurr29
Summary: The tragic story of a love doomed from the start.
Relationships: Original Female Character/Original Male Character
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	1. chapter 1

Their marriage was a failure. Something that was never meant to be. An arranged ceremony supposed to unite kingdoms and create peace. Not bloodshed. It's not that the marriage was loveless. The complete opposite actually. The problem was neither of them could admit it. One out of fear of rejection. Another out of senseless pride. It's because of this the marriage would not last. This is the story of a very lonely woman and a man destined to lose his mind.

On the day of their marriage, the woman was nervously pacing the length of her room. It would be several hours before the actual ceremony took place. This would be the first time she gets to meet her husband. The first time she gets to SEE her husband. She wonders what he's like. She's heard many amazing things about him. He's supposedly very kind, a strong-willed warrior. He does a lot of charity work. Always giving to the people less fortunate than him. Almost all of his public appearances involve him interacting with his people. Apparently, just last week he helped an old man up who had just fallen in the mud. Also getting himself muddy in the process. He's always seen joking, laughing, and playing with the children of Mrs. June's orphanage. He built them a schoolhouse not too long ago. He's supposedly very handsome - tall and pale with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. He has a clean-cut beard that contours his face perfectly. That with an amazing build and sense of style he's everybody's perfect man. The woman hoped all of these things were true. She was going to be with him till death do they part. The woman's name was Leah Fawn and the man she was marrying was Alexander William. 

KING Alexander William. King of the great kingdom Halella. The kingdom of Halella was a beautiful place. A winter wonderland in every way. Snow was falling all year round, pine trees as far as the eyes could see. Lakes frozen over perfectly for people to ice skate on. A town full of red noses and sparkling eyes. A beautiful place indeed. Leah was immediately besotted as soon as she laid eyes on the kingdom of never-ending winter. At Leah's request, they are going to meet an hour before the ceremony so they can get to know each other at least a little before being permanently bound to each other. Looking at herself in the mirror she wonders if the king would like her. She knows she's not the prettiest damsel out there. She's tall and bulky nothing like the petite women she sees all around the castle. She has frizzy brown hair, pale blue eyes, and a round face with full lips. Unlike the townsfolk whose faces are red from the cold, her face is permanently red from rosacea. Along with small breasts, stretch marks, and a rounded stomach. She hopes her dear husband would love her anyway even with all her faults.

It is about time for them to meet. Leah is unable to stop her feet from pacing the floor. She has already moved from her room to the solar. She picks at the seams of her slightly expensive dress. She has not put on her wedding dress yet, not wanting it to be dirtied or wrinkled. She's only been waiting in this room for a few minutes but to her, it feels like hours. From behind her, she finally hears the door open. Slowly turning around, she tries to calm herself by closing her eyes and taking deep breathes. "King Alexander William has arrived," announces the doorman. No sooner than she hears this, Leah opens her eyes to find a beautiful man before her. This is it. This is her king, her husband standing before her. All the rumors about his looks at least seem to be true. She was in awe at the sight of him. So in awe, she almost forgot to bow. Shaking her head a bit to clear her mind she finally remembers to curtsy. When she looks up from the curtsy, she sees an odd expression on the king's face. He doesn't look very pleased. She hopes it's not because of her. She hates disappointing people.

"It's nice to meet you," Alexander greets giving a slight nod. "It's uhh- very nice to meet you too your highness. I have-um, I have been anxiously awaiting this moment," Leah stutters. She doesn't like the look he's giving her. "Shall we sit then," he gestures to the seats just to the left of her. She quickly nods and sits. Resisting the urge to pick at the skin around her nails as she had been doing all morning. He takes a seat right in front of her crossing his left leg over his right in such an elegant manner. There was an awkward silence for a while. Neither of them knowing how to start a conversation. "So, what do you like to do for fun?" Leah asks proud that she was the one to spark the conversation. "Well, I like to do many things. Horseback riding is one of them. Have you ever rode on horseback before?" He replies seeming slightly more interested in her than he was before. "Oh no, I haven't, but I would love to try it." she says optimistically. "Great, then we can do it on our honeymoon." he states. They sit silently for a while after that. Him not bothering to ask her any questions, she soon grows very impatient. She doesn't want to upset him but she had to say something. What's the point of meeting like this if they are just going to sit in silence."I'm-I'm sorry my lord but the reason I wanted this meeting to happen is so we could get to know each other. But you don't really seem to want to get to know me."

"Oh really, I'm sorry I guess my mind has been elsewhere. What are your personal goals in life?" he asks, her eyes widen. She certainly wasn't expecting a question like this. "Well, I would really like to be a good wife to you. Maybe in the future, I could even try my hand at being a good mother." He looked very bored at her reply "is that all?" "What do you mean?" "Is that really all you aspire for?" This question shocked her even more. What more could she want? Truly that's all that matters, isn't it? Anything else is surely not as important. "I would like to be a poet. Reading and writing are a big passion of mine." She felt stupid saying this to him. To her neverending surprise, this seemed to interest him. "That's good, It's good to be ambitious. I find women with no ambition quite boring." That being said a long silence overtook them once more. He certainly is not like other men. Looking at him from the corner of her eye she finds she is quite entranced with him. She wonders if he feels the same about her. By the way he's acting she would say not. It's not that he seems completely uninterested but he's certainly not trying very hard. Just as she's about to speak once more one of the servants enter the room. "Sorry to interrupt your highness but the ceremony's about to begin," he informs. Alexander stands, "So soon? Well, I best let you get ready. I'm sure you want to look your best." Leah hurries and stands as well when he says this. "Yes, I would very much like that. Thank you for letting me have this time with you sire, I very much enjoyed it." She says bowing her head into another curtsy.

He nods quickly leaving the room. She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. That could have gone better. She has no time to dwell on that though. She has to get ready, they have the rest of their lives to get to know each other. As the handmaids pour into the room to help her get ready, she prays with everything in her that today goes well. This is going to be the start of a new life. She has to make sure it starts right. It doesn't even have to be perfect. It just has to be enough.


	2. Chapter 2

Their wedding was everything she prayed for and more. It was perfect. The great hall where the ceremony was being held was beautifully decorated. From the ceiling hung gorgeous bouquets of white roses. The pews on either side of the hall were made of a marvelous dark brown wood. Aligned on the pews were blue carnations. Going down the aisle was a light blue carpet with cloth snowflakes sewn into it. The alter also had a mix of white roses and blue carnations surrounding it. Her dress was made out of the finest white fabric with beads embedded from top to bottom. The sleeves were made of lace and came to slightly hang off her shoulders. The sleeves hugged her arms but not too tightly and on the entire dress were intricate designs of little snowflakes. The dress was an A-line silhouette, not too big or nor too small. Half of her hair was done up in a bun while the rest of it hung down on her shoulders. In her bun was light blue flower hairpins that held the intricate lace veil. Lastly, her bouquet was made up of white Ornithogalum and light blue Forget-Me-Nots. She never felt more beautiful in her life. 

It was almost time to walk down the aisle. Alexander's brother, Prince Aiden, was supposed to walk her down. He was running late. She had met Prince Aiden once before very briefly. It was on her first tour of the palace about a month beforehand. King Alexander was dealing with a trading scandal up north. She had been walking the halls taking the beauty in when suddenly she felt something or someone crash into her. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! Let me help you up." The boy rushes to help her up. Looking up from brushing the dirt off her dress Leah sees a handsome young man. He has light brown hair, hazel eyes, and thin lips. He is tall with pale skin and a boyish look to him. "No, it's my fault I should have been looking where I was going." Leah apologizes quickly bowing her head in shame. "I was the one running. You were just minding your own business. It's not your fault the scenery is so beautiful you just had to stare." He says putting a finger under her chin, lifting her head, and smiling down at her. She smiles back at him, "Yes it is very beautiful isn't it." She agrees looking around. Her eyes widen, "Oh dear, I'm sorry I almost forgot to introduce myself. My name's Leah Fawn and yours is?" "My name's Aiden William. So, Leah Fawn huh? you're the girl marrying my brother." 

"B-brother?" She suddenly realizes why his name sounds so familiar. "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize you were the prince." She says quickly lowering herself into a curtsy. He lets out a loud laugh, "It's okay, you really don't have to bow." "But I do it's a sign of respect." "If that's the case then." He dramatically leans down into a bow "only the utmost respect for my future sister-in-law." Leah blushes at this. "Oh no, I don't deserve your respect." "Of course you do. You're tying down my brother, only the greatest woman could do that." Looking down once more she finds herself blushing even harder. "I-it's nothing really. It's an arranged marriage. I had nothing to do with it." He chuckles at hearing this. "You have a very sweet spirit about you." This makes her look up. "You really think so?" She asks. "Yes, I do. You are a very sweet woman Leah Fawn. I'm sure my brother will recognize and appreciate that." She smiles brightly up at him. "Thank you for saying that. I appreciate it so much." "Anything for my future sister-in-law," he leans down to softly kiss her cheek. "It seems I must go now. The life of a prince is very busy you know." Aiden smirks as she places her hand on the cheek he kissed. "Ok, I will see you soon, I guess." She mutters hand still on her cheek. As the prince walks away he looks back one last time at the girl he would soon call family.

Leah smiles fondly at the memory. It was the first time anyone really complimented her like that. She wasn't used to that kind of attention. She didn't even know how to respond. Now he was running late. What was she gonna do if he didn't make it on time? Before she could ponder the thought any further she sees Aiden sprinting towards her. "I AM SO SORRY. I got caught up talking to miss Sasha. I swear that lady never takes a breath." Aiden says slightly out of breath from running. "You almost made me late to my own wedding," Leah states placing her hand over her heart to try and stop the pure panic from rushing through her veins. "I know, again I am so sorry." He apologizes once more making her feel guilty for being so grumpy with him. It's not his fault the lady wouldn't let him leave. "No, I'm sorry I can see you tried to get here as fast as you could. I'm sorry I snapped at you." She places her hand on his shoulder trying to make him feel better. "Heh, you really are too kind. If it was my wedding, I would've been way worse than you. We should hurry up though if you wanna make it down that aisle in time," he says holding his arm out for her to take. She smiles and loops her arm around his. The doors to the great hall open and music starts playing. They slowly start to walk down the long aisle. At the end of it, she sees her future husband looking back at her. He has a blank look on his face. Shouldn't he be at least a little happy? 'Well, it is an arranged marriage' she thinks. Maybe he isn't ready for marriage and he's being forced. She wouldn't be happy either if she was being forced to get married. 

Is she the reason he's unhappy? What if he did want to get married but she's not the one he wanted? What if he's in love with someone else- she doesn't get to finish that thought. She's already down the aisle. Aiden puts her hand into Alexanders who in turn helps her up the steps to the alter. They are now standing in front of each other. Leah gives Alexander a small reassuring smile. He gives what looks like a fake smile back. The pastor goes on to say his part. Everything goes well they say their vows and their 'I dos'. They share a sweet kiss when the pastor says to. Leah's first kiss. She had never been kissed before this. Its everything she could've hoped for. After that was finished they had the reception which was just as beautiful as the wedding. The wedding night was perfect too if not a bit awkward. They went just south of the castle to a home that he owned. It had acres and acres of land. It also had stables which made her very happy. The house was almost as big as the castle. So big she wasn't sure she could call it a house. The next morning after their amazing/awkward night Leah woke to find Alexander gone. She was confused but didn't think too much of it. Maybe he's just an early riser. A really early riser. After that first night, he didn't really touch her much. He seemed more interested in a book or in playing chess. He kissed every morning when they woke up and every night before bed but that was it.

He didn't even go horseback riding with her like he said they would. She had to go by herself. She was still optimistic though. It had only been a week maybe he just needed more time to get to know her. Maybe he would even grow to love her. She already was so infatuated with him. She had no doubt that she would fall in love with him too.


	3. Chapter 3

The months went by and Leah was starting to lose hope. He barely touched her, barely spent time with her. He barely even LOOKED at her. What made it even worse was the fact that the pressure to have an heir was getting more intense by the day. How was she supposed to give birth to an heir when she didn't even have the means to make one. It has been 7 months since their wedding and they've only spent four nights truly together. Yes, he still kisses her every morning and night but that's not enough to make a baby. She's alone most of the time. Other than seeing the servants every day and the occasional party Alexander takes her to - she's alone. The only person to make an effort to see her was Aiden. He came to visit every few weeks. They would usually take walks in the garden or play card games. He sometimes critiques her poetry. Though he only says good things. Aiden made her feel like she finally had a friend. Leah didn't have many friends growing up so it was nice to have someone like Aiden.

"I just don't know what I did to have him be so repulsed by me. Am I really that horrifying?" Leah expresses with a sigh making Aiden scoff. "My brother is just a prideful idiot. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you," he tells her appalled she would say something like that about herself. "But there's got to be a reason. I'm not petite or elegant like the other women in the castle. Compared to them I'm built like a man. I wouldn't want to touch me either." She places her head in her hands. Aiden sighs and goes to kneel in front of her. "Leah you are not built like a man. You are perfect just the way you are and if my brother wasn't so stupid he would see that," he says gently taking her hands away from her face. "Now come on, show me that beautiful smile of yours." He places his fingers on the corners of her mouth and pushes them up forcing her to smile. Letting out a laugh she pushes his hands away and gives him the biggest, fakest smile she could possibly muster. Aiden laughs along with her "There's my favorite smile. Now how could my brother be horrified this." He says pinching her cheeks. Placing her hands on top of his she takes them off her face holding them to her heart. "Thank you for making me feel better," she whispers, genuinely smiling at him. He gently squeezes her hands "anything for my favorite sister." "Aiden, I'm your only sister."

All he felt was guilt. Slowly pumping from his heart pouring through his veins. It consumed him. Aiden has never felt anything like this before. He remembers the day of his brother's wedding so clearly. How he had danced until he dropped. How he had so much cake and alcohol he could barely move by the time the reception was over. How he lied to Leah. It had happened right after Alexander came back from his meeting with Leah. Aiden had been nagging him about her since the moment he got back from the north. Alexander came into the room looking less than pleased. "What happened?" Aiden asks confused as to what happened to make his brother look so upset. "Is that really the girl that was chosen for me," Alexander exclaims confusing Aiden further. "What do you mean? What's wrong with her?" "WHAT'S WRONG WITH HER? There is so much wrong with her. Have you seen her?" "Yes, I've seen her. I don't see what the problem is." "The problem is I am a KING! Who I am seen with affects my reputation." "What's that supposed to mean?" Aiden asks exasperated at this point. "It means I can't be seen with her. I need to have a wife I can proudly stand by. One who is beautiful and elegant. Not her. It doesn't help that she has absolutely no aspirations in life."

Aiden was disgusted by what he was hearing. Is Alexander, the man who would give the shirt off his back for someone in need, really upset about his wife's appearance? This is not the Alexander he grew up with. This is a stranger. Aiden explodes with rage, screaming at his brother. How could he not see the sweetness Leah has? Just because she looks different doesn't mean she's not beautiful or elegant. How could he not see that? The fight went on for forty-five minutes. They both screamed and got into each other's faces. By the time they calmed down it was almost time for the wedding. They were reminded of this when a servant came to tell them. As soon as Aiden heard this he began running. Running as fast as he could to get to Leah. When he got to her he lied about why he was late. He didn't want to but he also didn't want to make her feel worse than she already was. He has kept his guilt inside him for months now. Not knowing how to make the situation better he decides to talk to his brother. Maybe he could convince him to at least try to get to know her. His brother is stubborn though so he's going to have to think about his words carefully.

Knocking on Alexander's door Aiden takes a deep breath. "Come in," he hears from inside. Aiden opens the door to find Alexander signing some documents at his desk. "I need to talk to you," Aiden says in the most serious voice he can. Hearing this, Alexander looks up from his papers, "What is it, little brother?" He asks. "You need to spend more time with Leah," Aiden states firmly causing Alexander to stand from his seat. "Excuse me-" "you heard what I said," Aiden interrupts. Alexander scoffs "who are you to tell your king what to do." "Someone who cares that's who. Do you know how much pressure Leah is getting to give birth to an heir?" "Yes don't you think I'm getting pressure to." "Well obviously not!" Aiden shouts "if you were getting the pressure she was, you would be in more of a hurry to make one." Alexander sighs "well I'm sorry I have better things to do." "Better things? What's better than securing your legacy and making your wife not feel worthless. Look I'm only asking you to spend more time with her, nothing more." Aiden says giving Alexander a pleading look. Sighing once more Alexander finally submits, "Okay I have plans to go to the orphanage today. I'll see how well she does with kids." "Thank you."

When Aiden leaves Alexander sits down putting his head in his hands. This is really not what he planned. Aiden was right though the pressure for an heir was getting stronger by the day. Alexander needs to get his head in the game. He quickly calls a servant to go tell Leah to get ready, that they were going on a trip. He goes outside to get the horses ready. He did say he would go horseback riding with her. As he's readying the horses he sees Leah from the corner of his eye. He walks up and greets her with a kiss. "Good evening darling," he says with a smile. Leah looks confused, "What's going on? Did something happen? Why are we suddenly going on a trip?" She spews stumbling over her words. Alexander can see how nervous she is. "Nothing happened. What, am I not allowed to surprise my wife?" he asks raising a brow at her. "W-well I guess there's no harm in surprises. Where are we going?" "Somewhere I love dearly." He says gesturing to the horses. "Didn't I say I'd take you horseback riding." Hearing this her eyes light up. Looking up at him excitedly she asks, "Really?! Do you mean it?" Smiling down at her he says "Of course, I always keep my word." He pats her on the back and helps her onto her horse. "Just follow my lead, okay?" He tells her, she nods in reply.

It took only thirty minutes to get to the orphanage. Alexander smiles as he hears a gasp from beside him. "T-this is Mrs. June's orphanage," Leah utters in awe giving him a wide-eyed look. "I realize I never really shared with you the places I love. So I figured that should change," he says hopping off his horse. He also helps Leah off her horse. Offering her his arm to hold onto he leads her into the orphanage. The children all run-up to him in excitement asking him where he's been, why it took him so long to visit, and who was the lady beside him. "Children this is Leah, she is my wife," he introduces. They all take to her immediately, pulling her off to play with them. Alexander watches from the sidelines only jumping in the game when necessary. He watches her. The way she interacts with the children. The way the snow falls onto her slightly frizzed hair. He can't help but be entranced by her. He smiles as the children manage to knock her down and pile on top of her. How could he not notice how beautiful her laugh was? Maybe its because he's never heard her laugh. He frowns at the realization. Shaking his head he decides not to focus on that. Looking at his wife once more he notices she's already looking at him. As soon as they lock eyes she gives him a beautiful smile. His heart skips several beats. Grabbing onto his chest he stumbles a little from the shock.

She sees this and automatically looks concerned. She ushers the kids off of her and hurries to his side. "Are you ok?" She asks "I got a bit light-headed. I think we should head home now." The children groan as he says this. "It's okay kids I promise we'll be back soon," Leah assures them. The kids still seem unhappy but they accept it. On the trip back home Alexander can't stop looking at her. They safely make it back home and into their room to warm-up. Leah suddenly grabs his arm and leans up to kiss his forehead. "It doesn't seem like you have a fever." She says putting her cold hand on his face. "You're cold," he grabs her hands rubbing them with his warm ones. "Maybe I should warm you up." Leah blushes at his words "Oh no, you shouldn't be worrying about me. you're the one who doesn't feel well." She stumbles over her words trying to look anywhere but at him. "I feel a lot better now, thanks to you. Your concern warms me to no end." His face slowly gets closer to hers. "It's nothing really. Of course, I would be concerned your my-" she was unable to finish her sentence. Alexander pushes his lips on hers in a passionate kiss. With that starts the adventure of a lifetime.


	4. Chapter 4

After that night Leah became pregnant. She was so overjoyed when she heard the news. She cried tears of joy. Alexander was happy too at the thought of having a child of his own. When Aiden heard the news he squealed with joy picking Leah up and spinning her. A feast was even planned in honor of the child. The months went by and Leah's belly got bigger as the baby grew. This concerned Leah. Not her baby growing but the way she was growing. Don't misunderstand she was happy the baby looked like they were growing healthy. She would grow as big as a house if it meant her baby was healthy. She was scared though, she didn't want her body to change too much. She already had stretch marks before she got pregnant. She hoped they didn't get worse. She also hoped she wouldn't keep the baby weight. The thought of staying that big scared her. She was already big enough she didn't need to get any bigger. Alexander didn't see her anymore during pregnancy than he did before. She thought after the trip to Mrs. June's orphanage he would spend more time with her. She was mistaken. He does, however, get her anything wants. She one day mentioned how much she loved some emerald jewels she saw at the feast planned in honor of the baby. The next day they appeared on her pillow. The maid said they were from the king. Every time after that anytime she mentioned liking something she would see it on her pillow the next day.

It made her uncomfortable. He wasn't even around when she would mention liking anything. How would he know what she likes? Soon it was time for Leah to give birth. When it started she didn't have a clue what was happening. The pains happened at random times throughout the day. It wasn't until her water broke the next day that she realized what was going on. She immediately called on the midwives while she got situated on the bed. The pain was getting worse now and started happening every 6 minutes. No matter how bad the pain got Leah didn't scream. She knew she would just be wasting her energy. When Alexander heard the news he rushed to her room but he was forced to stay outside. The labor was already in full swing. It would be another 3 hours before the baby came out. Leah was close to passing out from exhaustion, but she still held out long enough to hold her beautiful baby boy. She named him Cole meaning 'victory of the people'. Cole had blue eyes with thick dark brown hair. With his mother's nose and his father's chin, he was a perfect mix of them both. She motioned for the midwife to take him. She wanted Alexander to see him. She hoped Alexander would find their son just as beautiful as she did.

"My lord. This is your son," The midwife says holding a small child out to him. A boy? Tears fill Alexander's eyes as the midwife puts the boy in his arms. He holds the boy close to his chest. Looking at his face Alexander's tears start to fall. He's never seen anything so beautiful. "Hows the queen, is she alright?" He asks, he was starting to worry since everyone was too busy to tell him anything. "She's just fine my lord, just resting. She worked very hard to get this little one out." The midwife tells him "she did an amazing job." He says smiling down at their son "can I go see her?" He asks and the midwife nods. "Just try your best to be quiet she needs her sleep." She orders, usually he doesn't like being ordered around but he can deal with it this time. Slowly opening the door to her room he quietly enters. Looking at her peacefully sleeping, he can't help but stare. Moving to her side he tries not to make to much noise sitting on the edge of the bed. The child in his arms makes a soft cooing noise. It practically melts his heart. "Don't worry little one," he whispers softly. "You need to let mommy rest. You gave her such a hard time, I think she deserves at least a few minutes of sleep." As he says this a soft rustle comes from beside him. 

"Alexander?" Leah mumbles, slowly opening her eyes. "Yes darling, I'm here. Go back to sleep." He tells her "where's Cole? Where's our son?" She asks "he's right here. So you named him Cole? I like it, it's a strong name." He says "It means 'victory of the people'. I thought it would suit him." She says smiling. "Do you find him as beautiful as I do, Alexander?" Alexander laughs "beautiful? Leah, he's gorgeous. You did such a good job." He grabs her hand to emphasize his point. "It wasn't just me. You helped make him. You and the lord," Leah states, Alexander gently lays little Cole down beside her. She puts her arms around Cole and pulls him in closer kissing his head. Alexander smiles at the sight. "Lay down with us. I'm sure Cole would like bonding time with his father before he has to go back to his kingly duties." Leah says patting the space on the bed beside them. Alexander nods and slowly lays down beside them. With Cole in between them, they looked like the perfect happy family. They felt that way too, like the perfect happy family. Soon all three of them were asleep. A few days later Aiden arrives at the castle. Aiden likes to travel so he wasn't able to make it on time for Cole's birth.

Aiden bursts into Leah's room big eyes and a wide smile. "Where's my nephew?" He exclaims happily. His smile quickly drops when he sees that Leah is in the middle of breastfeeding. He quickly covers his eyes and turns around. "I'm so sorry. I should have knocked I didn't mean to come in such a private time." He quickly says not wanting Leah to be mad at him for intruding. To his relief, he hears her laugh. "It's ok Aiden, he was just finishing up. He eats so much for such a little guy." She quickly covers herself up and allows him to turn around. He walks over and sits on the chair near her bed. "Motherhood becomes you, Leah. Is my brother the same way with fatherhood?" He asks. "Well, Alexander spent the first three days with us but he had to go back to being a king today." She says sadly, she was really hoping to spend more time with him. Aiden frowns feeling sorry for her. "The life of a king is not an easy life to live. Besides, you have me now and you're going to have me for an entire week. We don't need that boring old man to come and ruin all of our fun." he says making her laugh, "now can I PLEASE, hold my nephew?" He asks making her laugh harder. "Fine, just be gentle with him." Leah holds the baby out to him and Aiden gently takes him into his arms. "Aww, we are going to have so much fun little one." He softly coos at the baby excited to finally be an uncle.

More months went by and Cole got older. Cole was now almost two. Aiden started visiting more after he was born. Wanting to watch his only nephew grow up and also to watch over Leah. Not long after Cole's birth, Leah started to become depressed. The only time she was happy was when she was with Cole. Alexander started spending more time with her but it doesn't seem to be helping. Aiden tried to talk to Alexander but he brushed it off. Every time he asked her what was wrong she would brush him off too. It was starting to tick him off. All Leah did was sit around in this big castle all day. No wonder she was depressed. Today was the day he would change that. He was going to take Leah outside if he had to drag her out. Knocking on the door he waits until he hears a muffled 'come in' and enters the nursery. "Leah, won't you go on a walk with me?" Aiden asks hopefully. "I shouldn't Cole might wake up soon and I don't want him to think I've left him," Leah replies. Aiden rolls his eyes at this "you've been locked up inside for months. He's not going to die if you leave him for a few minutes. He probably won't even wake up," He says. He walks over to her and grabs her hand. "Please take a walk with me. I promise it'll only be a few minutes." He pleads holding her hand up to his chest. She hesitates for a few moments looking from her son to the man in front of her. She sighs "okay but only for a few minutes."

Walking outside to the garden Aiden was happy to see Leah enjoying the fresh air. "So, are you going to tell me what's wrong?" Aiden asks startling Leah. "What do you mean? Nothing's wrong." She tries to brush the question off but he wasn't having it. "Don't try and lie to me, Leah. It's not going to work this time." He says giving her a warning look. "I don't know what you want me to say Aiden. It's none of your concern." "But it is my concern. You're my sister, I care about you. I want to help you. I hate seeing you this upset," He exclaims. Leah sighs heavily pulling her coat tighter shielding her body from the cold. "I just thought he'd love me by now. I know it sounds stupid. I just really thought after I got pregnant he'd want to me be around me more. But it seems he's doing it out of obligation. I don't want him to force himself to be around me if he doesn't want to be." She mumbles a few tears falling from her eyes. "Hey, don't cry it's ok. He doesn't deserve your tears. If he won't make time for you don't waste tears on him." He utters pulling her into a tight hug letting her tears soak his shirt. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She apologizes still sobbing into his shirt. All he does is shush her softly kissing the top of her head.

Watching from a distance far from their line of sight was Alexander. He was walking in the garden when he heard two voices in the distance. Walking over to where he heard the voices he suddenly stops in his tracks. What he sees snaps his heart in two. Why are his brother and his wife hugging like lovers? They would never betray him like this would they? Apparently they would. Alexander gets a dark look on his face. If this is how it's going to be then so be it.


	5. Chapter 5

A few days after Leah and Aiden's garden talk Leah found out she was pregnant for the second time. She was overjoyed at the news. The thought of having more kids to love and take care of pleased her greatly. Alexander, on the other hand, seemed neutral about it. He wasn't happy nor upset, just ok with it. Aiden was ecstatic when he heard the news almost dropping Cole when she told him. Two days after that it was Cole's second birthday. The party planned was extravagant. The great hall was decorated just as beautiful as it was on their wedding day. Half the world was invited it seemed like. Royals and noblemen from all parts of the world gathered in the castle just to celebrate one little boy. At the party, Leah tries to keep her son in line. He only just turned two and he's already acting terrible. Cole was jumping around, climbing on top of tables, even throwing food at people. The maids tried to help but only made him more hyper. Leah was at her wit's end. "Cole please don't throw that." She says taking the plate out of his hand. Her eyes were filled with tears at this point, her pregnancy hormones didn't help either.

"You should go sit down. You don't need to overwork yourself." Alexander utters placing a hand on Leah's shoulder. "But, he's being so rowdy, the maids can't even do anything with him." She says trying to hold back her tears. "I'll take care of him, go sit down." He insists "but I-" "I said sit down!" He firmly demands grabbing her arm. It was a tight grip not enough to hurt her but enough to force her to sit down. Leah was in shock as she watched Alexander leave. He had never treated her like that before. It almost scared her. She watches as Alexander picks up their son and spins him. His mood changing so fast you would think he was the one pregnant. She hopes she's not the reason he's acting so weird. Shaking her head she tries not to think about it. This is a happy occasion after all. She stays sitting down for most of the party. Aiden is nowhere to be seen. Probably off partying where Cole couldn't see him. Aiden is very close to Cole. Always trying to be the best uncle he can be. Cole loves him, his first word was "Aid". They were confused at first to whether he wanted help or wanted his uncle. They found out quickly that he was wanting his uncle.

When Aiden finally comes into view he's clumsily moving through the crowd. As soon as he laid eyes on Leah his eyes lit up with happiness. Stumbling over to her he grabs her hands jerking her up from the chair. "Cmon Leah dance with me." Aiden slurs pulling her body close to his. He smells heavily of alcohol. It makes Leah sick, her heightened sense of smell making the scent almost too intense to bear. "Aiden, you're drunk. We should get you some water." She says trying to pull away from him. Her attempts to pull away were only met with him pulling her closer. "Just one dance, please?" He whispers wrapping his arms around her. With a sigh, she finally submits "just one dance," she says. With both his arms around her waist she puts both hands on his shoulders. They slowly sway to the music playing in the background. "You know, my brother is a very lucky man," Aiden whispers. Leah almost couldn't hear him over the music. "Why do you think that?" She asks getting nervous. He's never acted like this before. Everyone is acting so weird around her tonight. She's really starting to wonder if she did something. "Because not everyone is lucky to have someone as sweet as you." He states pulling away from her just enough to look her in the eye. "That's very nice of you to say Aiden." She smiles at him a little uncomfortable at how close their faces were. She can feel his breath on her face.

Leah sees Aidens face getting closer to hers. So close their lips are almost touching. The smell of alcohol getting stronger with each breath. She quickly pushes him away feeling sick to her stomach. "I'm so sorry." She says quickly running away. Aiden's in shock. What did he just try to do? Putting his hand over his mouth he starts looking around to see if anyone saw his transaction with the queen. His eyes widen as he locks eyes with Alexander. Alexander looks enraged glaring at Aiden with all his might. Aiden opens his mouth to say something but ultimately doesn't as Alexander shakes his head and walks away. Aiden looks around once more trying to figure out what to do. This is his nephew's birthday party for heaven's sake. Why did he have to go and get drunk? How stupid could he be? That's his brother's WIFE he almost kissed. His brother's pregnant wife at that. He shakes his head trying to sober up. He finds himself unable to as the room starts spinning. Stumbling away from the party he makes his way to his room and passes out on the bed. Dreaming of what could have been.

In his dream, there was a girl. Not Leah but someone from his past. She had long straight brown hair with small almond-shaped brown eyes. At first as shameful as it is, he was only drawn to her body. Her body was small and tan. Nothing like he'd seen before since everyone where he was from was either really dark or really pale. No in-between. But she was different, she was in-between. It intrigued him. He was entranced by her beauty. Her name was Maria Hale. She was his personal servant girl. Given to him as a gift. A gift he didn't like. Not that he didn't like her, he just doesn't like the act of giving a person as a gift. People are not objects to be given. Still, he graciously took her with a smile on his face. He was going to set her free after he took her. Let her live her own life, make her own decisions. But she refused. She wanted to stay with him. He was shocked but accepted it. He was highly attracted to her so whenever she entered the room he would blatantly stare at her. He would try to talk to her but she wouldn't respond at first. It took him a while but eventually, he got her to open up. When she did it was like a whole new world was shown to him.

She was so kind and humble. She reminded him of honey. The way her skin was tan and silky smooth. The way her sweetness seeped into his pores and stuck onto his heart was all too familiar. It reminded him of how his mother used to give him and his brother a spoon full of honey when they were sick. She was his remedy. Whenever he was sick or upset she was always the secret remedy to make him feel better. She taught him so many things. She taught him how to sew, how to cook. She even taught him how to dance. Most importantly she taught him how to accept people. No matter how they looked. He loved her so much. He wanted to be with her forever no matter how gray-haired or wrinkly they got. All he wanted was her. It was never meant to be though, for she was a servant and he was royalty. They were forbidden. That didn't matter to him though. He wanted her, he NEEDED her. He needed her like he needed to breathe. They used to meet at night. Secret little rendezvous only they knew about. One day they were caught. Maria was immediately detained and taken to the dungeon. He fought the guards with all his might to get to her but it wasn't enough. No matter how much he begged or how much he pleaded he couldn't get her back.

Maria was banished from the kingdom on account of treason. The only thing keeping her from the death penalty was Aiden's pleading. His heart ached for her every single day. The only thing keeping him sane was his brother who tried to make things better by distracting him. It helped but only for a little while. He traveled everywhere looking for her. It's the reason he traveled as much as he did. He's always looking for her. He's calmed down a lot since meeting Leah. Leah reminds him of Maria. Maybe that's why he cares for her as much as he does. She's so humble and sweet. Just like Maria was. Aiden's not going to let Leah get hurt like Maria. He's going to protect her, even if it's from his own brother. When he awakes the next morning Aiden has a pounding headache. He tries to remember what happened the night before but his headache prevents him from thinking anything. A knock on his door makes him groan. "What is it now?" He grunts flopping out of bed and walking to the door. When he opens the door he sees Leah standing there with a tray in hand. Seeing her he remembers everything. How he got drunk and forced her to dance with him. How he almost kissed her. With everything he did, he's shocked she's standing here. "What are you doing here?" He slurs trying to shake off the hangover. "I thought- I thought you might need something for your hangover." She says slightly out of breath, holding out the tray of breakfast and some weird smelling concoction of a drink.

"Thank you, why do you seem out of breath?" He asks "funny story, so I was walking over here to give this to you when I accidentally tripped. I ended up spilling this and had to clean it up before going to the kitchen remaking everything for your hangover." She explains making him smile. "You made this for me?" "Yes it's probably not that good but I tried." She looks down nervously playing with her fingers. "If you made it I'm sure it'll be delicious." He says taking the tray from her hands. She takes a deep breath and covers her nose. "You should bathe after you eat. You still stink from last night." She remarks turning away from him. "Oh I'm sorry" he backs away from her. "Also I'm sorry about last night. I acted inappropriately. I have no idea what I was thinking getting drunk at a two-year-olds birthday party." He says looking down in shame. "Oh, it's fine you didn't mean any harm by it. Parties are meant to be fun. Just not when they're my son's parties." She jokes making him smile. "So you're not mad about me almost kissing you?" He asks "no you were drunk. You had no idea what you were doing." She waves her hand in dismissal "now hurry up and eat so you can wash. The smell of you is making me sick." She states making him gasp in horror. "Well, how dare you! I'll have you know I smell like daisies." He exclaims causing her to laugh. "Whatever helps you sleep at night Aiden. Make sure to drink everything in that cup to it's my secret cure for a hangover." 

"You drink?" He gasps and she slaps his arm "NO, but my father used to. This was his recipe." She looks down as she says this. He feels guilty making her think about it. He remembers her telling him about her father's alcoholism. It ended up killing him. "Well, I'll be sure to drink every single drop." He says trying to lighten the mood. "Yeah, you do that. I have to go now, you know how Cole is in the mornings." She replies, quickly leaving to go tend to her son. He watches her leave for a moment. He was definitely going to protect her.


	6. Chapter 6

Leah's second pregnancy was not as smooth as the first one. She was sick and tired all the time. She could barely eat a piece of bread without throwing up. The physician had told her that the sickness would go away after her belly started growing as it did before. The months went by but the sickness only seemed to get worse as her belly grew. Alexander didn't seem to have much sympathy for her either. Just when she thought they were starting a true relationship he starts ignoring her again. What confused her even more was Alexander still got her gifts. Once every month Leah would find a gift on her pillow with a note saying it was Alexander. She just can't figure him out. Leah's given up at this point. Like Aiden said, "if he doesn't make time for you, don't waste tears on him". Aiden was a real help during this time. Always checking up on her and holding her hair back when she threw up. He always knew how to make her smile even when she felt like she was physically incapable of it. She thanked God for Aiden every day.

Even though the pregnancy was hard the birth seemed to be easier. It was the exact opposite of when she was pregnant with Cole. With Cole the pregnancy was easy and the birth was hard. It only took 5 hours before the baby girl was brought into the world. Her name was Victoria, meaning 'victory or triumphant'. Leah was holding Victoria when Alexander walked in. "Hello Alexander," she greets shyly. He nods his head at the little girl in Leah's arms. "Is she healthy?" Alexander asks. Victoria was born a month before she was due. It almost gave everyone a heart attack when Leah said her water broke. "She's small and very weak, but I'm sure she will be fine given time." She says confidently making him nod once more. "Would you, like to meet your daughter?" She asks confused as to why he's just standing there staring at them. "I will hold her later. I'm sure Aiden will keep you perfect company." He mumbles the last part bitterly. Leah didn't like his tone of voice at all. "Why yes, he will. Better company than you at least."

"Excuse me? What did you just say?" He practically growls in anger. Puffing out her chest and holding Victoria close she asserts herself confidently. "You heard me," she states. they stare at each other for a moment, neither one willing to look away. After what seems like an eternity Alexander breaks eye contact. Letting out a loud grunt Alexander punches the wall in rage. The loud noise waking Victoria and making her cry. Leah looks down and automatically starts to calm her scared child. Alexander stands shocked for a moment, staring at the small child. He stares until the midwives burst in to see what all the ruckus was about. One midwife asks him what happened and why there was a hole in the wall. All he did was shake his in response and stumble out of the room. As soon as he left Leah let out a breath she didn't know she was holding in. The midwife goes to take the baby from her but Leah waves her off. She wants to keep her child as close as possible.

When Aiden heard what happened a few days later he was outraged. "Who does he think he is scaring his child like that?" Aiden yells waving his arms like a mad man. Leah was glad both children were in the nursery a few doors over. "I don't know Aiden honestly it scared me too. I've never seen him get angry like that." Leah utters "but you talked back to him." Aiden says smiling proudly. Leah smirks "yeah I did, didn't I? Who knows maybe one day I could even fight him." She jokes giving Aiden a playful punch to the arm. He dramatically grabs his shoulder gasping as if she had just torn it off. "Wow Lee be careful you could take down an army with that swing." He laughs and Leah laughs with him. "Spread the word Aid. Soon we won't even need soldiers." She says flexing her arms making him laugh harder. "We should warn all the other kingdoms, don't mess with queen Leah." He proclaims wrapping an arm around her. They both take a moment to catch their breath. "I like it when you're like this." He says "like what?" She asks "happy, you're not happy often. It's nice to see you look alive again." Leah smiles softly at his words. "You're too sweet." She says leaning up and kissing his cheek.

Eight years pass after that moment. Cole is now ten and Victoria is a week shy of being eight. Ever since the birth of Victoria, the tension between Leah and Alexander has only gotten colder. Alexander refuses to look at Leah and when he does it's with pure sorrow. Leah tries to be happy but you can always see the sadness when Alexander is mentioned. Aiden tries to help but even he can't keep Leah happy all the time and Alexander refuses to talk to him. Alexander seems so angry all the time. He spends all his time outside of the castle. Preferring to deal with things in person rather than signing some papers. Leah gets the feeling there's more to it than that but she doesn't ask. No point in asking when you know you won't get a straight answer. Or an answer at all. Leah was genuinely getting fed up with the way Alexander was acting. She doesn't even know what she did to make him act this way towards her. "I can't keep going on like this. He has no right to treat me this way. To treat us this way. He has no right to treat us like we're nothing," Leah exclaims. Aiden sits in the chair beside her "you're telling me. Except I think he has a reason to act the way he does with me." He says making her look at him confused. "What do you mean?" She asks "he saw what happened at Cole's second birthday."

"He's mad about that? You were drunk. Did he even talk to you about it?" She scoffs starting to pace. Aiden shakes his head in reply. "No? Listen, I understand why he would be upset but he could have at least tried to talk to us about it. Instead of holding it inside for years on end and making everyone miserable." Leah finds herself ranting. All the pent up anger coming out in waves. "Leah calm down, Alexander is a special breed of man. He's prideful and has a bit of an anger issue. Once he gets an idea in his head he sticks to it no matter how stupid. If you want to get something through his thick skull you're going to have to knock it into him." He says grabbing her shoulders. "Well, if that's what it takes then that's what I'll do," She tells him. Aiden sighs "just be careful okay. I don't want your feelings hurt any more than they already are." "You need to stop worrying about my feeling so much Aiden. I appreciate everything you do for me but you need to start worrying about you. I'll be fine." Aiden smiles proudly. 'She's grown up' he thinks. She's not the same girl crying because her husband didn't love her. She has become a woman of dignity and self-respect. "I know you will, you always are."

Making her way to Alexander's office Leah could feel all the confidence she had earlier slowly draining out of her body. She had to confront him though. For her sanity and the sake of their children. Children deserve parents who could at least tolerate each other. Not ones who could barely look at each other. Knocking on his door she holds her head high. She was not going to let him tear her down, not this time. Hearing him say 'come in' she knew there was no going back now. "Alexander?" She calls as she's opening the door. Alexander looks at her shocked. "Leah, what are you doing here?" He asks quickly standing from his seat. "I need to talk to you about something." She says "what is it?" She quickly takes a deep breath. "Why do you always act so cold?" Leah asks "what do you mean-" "you know what I mean Alexander. You always act so distantly, you never talk to me or your brother. You barely look at us and when you do its like we've wronged you. I get you being upset about what happened on Cole's second birthday but you never even tried to talk to us about it. If you did we could've solved this before it got out of hand. I don't see why you have to bottle everything up. Seriously, stop being so selfish. Look at what you're putting the children through. They can barely stand in a room for five minutes with us without feeling like they've done something wrong. I don't even know what I did to make you act so horribly towards me."

Alexander stands there shocked for a moment. Then he gets angry. "You don't know what you did? YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DID?! That's just hilarious. I see how close you are with my brother. I see how you spend all your time together. How he holds you like you are lovers. How he came close to putting his lips on yours. Don't try to deny it." He asserts making her scoff. "Is that what you think? That we are lovers?" He gives her a pointed look, answering her question. "Alexander, throughout this entire marriage I can truthfully say that the only person I've ever loved is you. I've loved you since the first time we've met. The first time you kissed my lips I knew I was yours. Aiden is my best friend and yes I love him but not as much as I love you. The reason he hugs me the way he does is he's comforting me. I was so upset over you, over why you didn't love me. He was there for me when you weren't. He was drunk when he tried to kiss me. He's felt so guilty over it for years. He's apologized to me more times than I could count." Hearing this all of Alexander's anger dissipates. "Is... Is this true?" He asks "would I be saying it if it wasn't?" Alexander looks down in shame. No matter what he thought she'd done Leah was never one to lie. If she had been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to do she would admit to it right away. Leah walks over to him and puts her fingers under his chin forcing him to look at her. "Alexander please say something."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." He utters grabbing her hands. "It's ok, I forgive you. Just tell me why you've never talked to me." she says "I don't know. I guess I was afraid." This makes Leah laugh "the great Alexander William was afraid?" she jokes. Alexander rolls his eyes "yeah yeah laugh it out. I was afraid, I didn't want to know if my suspicions were correct or not. If I had confronted you and you confirmed my suspicions my heart would have been torn apart. If I had confronted you and you said you hadn't done anything then I would have had to deal with the shame of humiliating you. So I never said anything." He presses his forehead against hers. "You really are a special breed of man." She giggles "you could say that again. I am truly sorry" he says looking in her eyes. She smiles brightly up at him "it's okay, really. Just promise to talk to me whenever you have these thoughts again." "I promise to talk to you about everything from now on."


	7. Chapter 7

A few hours after Leah confronted Alexander and made up with him Alexander had to leave. There had been some tension between Halella and a kingdom in the east for some time now. The kingdom's name was Kodora. The kingdom of Kodora was ruled by an intriguing man named Kaius. Kaius was a short man with practically no hair. He had gray eyes and was very thin. The man looked like he couldn't even lift a stick let alone rule a kingdom. Still don't underestimate anyone Alexander reminded himself. You never know what trickery someone might have up their sleeve. No matter how harmless they looked. Leah looked very disappointed when he told her he had to leave. He promised to make it up to her once he got back. Leah accepted it on the condition that he bring Aiden with him. She reminded him that she wasn't the only one Alexander had to apologize to. Aiden also suffered. Alexander wholeheartedly agreed. He just hoped Aiden would be able to forgive him.

Aiden agreed to go with Alexander when he asked which made Alexander sigh in relief. They were expected to be back in time for Victoria's birthday. Victoria made Alexander promise that he and Aiden would be at the party. He's had to make a lot of promises today Alexander thinks. He was determined to keep all of them too. Leaving for the kingdom of Kodora Alexander kisses both his kids and his wife then sets off. The trip there was easy, not many interruptions. Alexander apologized to Aiden for everything he put Leah and him through. The kingdom of Kodora was the complete opposite of Halella. It was sunny all the time and never cold. There were cherry blossom and crab apple trees everywhere. The grass was green and full of life. It was a beautiful place but it was way too hot for Alexander. It took a few days to settle the problem but everything seemed to turn out fine. The only thing that went wrong was when they were coming home some bandits attacked them. They had to fight them off which took way more time than expected. They were going to be late for Victoria's party. She's not going to like that. 

As soon as they got back Alexander and Aiden knew something was wrong. The air was too still. The night was still young, the party should still be going on. "Somethings wrong. I'll take some men and go check the east side, you check the north." Aiden says drawing his sword from his sheath. Alexander nods and starts heading towards the great hall. Slowly sneaking through the halls he doesn't like how quiet it is. Finally, he gets to the great hall and gently pushes open the door. Looking inside his eyes widen in horror. The entire hall is covered in blood and bodies are everywhere. Panic spreads through his entire body. Quickly checking to see if there's any danger he rushes into the hall and checks for any survivors. Seeing none Alexander panics even more. He goes on a rampage desperately searching for Leah and his children. Running through the castle he hears someone yelling for him. It was Aiden running to meet him. "Hey, did you see anything. I found Vicky and Cole hiding in a closet in the east wing. They refuse to tell me anything that happened." Poking out from behind Aiden are the heads of his two precious children. Who upon seeing their dad run and jump into his arms. Alexander holds them tightly to him.

"Where's your mother?" Alexander asks the shaking children. "I-I don't know. She sent us a-away when the bad men started to attack." Cole stutters pressing his head to his father's shoulder. "The bad men? What do you mean Cole?" Aiden leans down placing his hand gently on the back of Victoria's head. "The bad men- they came during the party. They started shouting things and pushing people. I was so scared- mommy told us to go hide when the fighting started. She-she-" Victoria was interrupted by the sob that left her mouth. Alexander and Aiden look at each other concerned. Who would want to attack the palace? "We need to search the palace. Leah could be anywhere. Here you take the children and I'll get the guards and search." Alexander says handing over the children to Aiden. Aiden takes the kids and rushes off while Alexander and the guards scoured the castle. They search for hours with no trace of Leah to be found. Alexander was starting to get frantic. Where could she be? Did the men that attacked the castle take her? Or did they- Alexander shakes the thought out of his head. No, she couldn't be dead. He refused to believe it.

Three months pass and Alexander searches every corner of the kingdom. Leah's nowhere to be found. Alexander doesn't eat, doesn't sleep. All he does is search and pace. Aiden isn't much better, he spends most of his time distracting the children. When he isn't playing with them he's out with Alexander searching. The entire kingdom of Halella is under distress. Where could their kind and gentle queen have gone? The search for the assailants has been non-stop as well. Alexander was laying in his bed staring at the ceiling. Who could those men have been? He had tried to get more information out of the children but had no luck. The men were wearing masks so they couldn't see their faces. It baffled Alexander to no end how those men could've broken into the heavily guarded castle. Who were they? Why were they here? Alexander's eyes widen as he realizes something. Kodora wasn't the only kingdom they've been having trouble with. There are two kingdoms in the south and one in the west that have been restless. Any one of them could've taken Leah. With that knowledge, Alexander starts planning. The next day Alexander gathers all of his troops and explains his plan.

The following weeks were full of bloodshed and chaos. Without any warning, Alexander attacked three kingdoms with full force. Searching every corner to find his beloved wife or any traces of her. Alexander slaughtered the three kingdoms armies by the dozen. Not a single person was left alive. No stone was left unturned. Alexander was enraged to find that Leah was nowhere near the tree kingdoms. He was so sure that they took her. He punches the wall in rage creating a hole where his fist was. Aiden walks in at this time "Alexander, we need to talk. This has gone too far." Alexander looks at him with a mix of rage and confusion. "What do you mean 'gone too far'? Leah's still out there, still missing." He exclaims pointing out the window to the left of him as to prove a point. "I know Alex, but it's been months. You have to accept the possibility that Leah might be-" "DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT! Don't you dare even suggest that." Alexander roars in rage causing Aiden to groan. "You think I want to admit it any more than you do? Don't you think I'm hurting too? She was my best friend, my SISTER I loved her just as much as you did."

Hearing Aiden say this Alexander starts to laugh. "Y-you loved her as much as I did. Hehehe yeah, I could tell from all the times you've forced yourself on her." He bellowed, laughter slowly turning into shouting. "You know that's not what I meant," Aiden tells him. "Really? Is that so? Then what did you mean when you kissed her?" Alexander asks "I thought we went over this. I was drunk I thought she was Maria." Aiden was starting to get nervous. The look in Alexander's eyes was something horrifying. "I saw the way you looked at her Aiden. I saw the longing, the desire. You wanted her. You wanted her all to yourself." Alexander slowly gets closer to Aiden as he speaks. Aiden backs up feeling like he was a red flag and Alexander was a bull. "I-I have no idea what you're talking about." Aiden avoids looking into Alexander's eyes afraid of what he would see. "Oh, I think you do Aiden. You liked that I was never around, you took advantage of it. I might have seemed uninterested but I saw everything. Every hug, all the prolonged eye contact. Every single 'accidental' touch that wasn't truly accidental. Just an excuse to put your grubby hands on her." Aiden's eyes grow with each word Alexander says. 

"WELL, I WOULDNT HAVE HAD TO BE THAT WAY IF YOU HAD MADE HER FEEL ANYTHING OTHER THAN WORTHLESS," Aiden screams. Guilt knawing at him as soon as he does. "I'm sorry Alex." "No you're not, and you never will be." Alexander's anger had calmed into a deep sadness. "Listen, you know me Alex. You know I would never do anything to hurt you. I can't control how I feel. If I could you know I would've never felt it in the first place." Aiden places a hand on Alexander's shoulder. "I know" "Alex when you got married you weren't the only one who made a vow. I did as well. I vowed to always protect Leah because no matter how much you'd for me to be this lecherous monster. My feelings are genuine. Don't think you're the only one that broke a promise." Alexander's eyes fill with tears. Aiden pulls him into a tight hug also on the verge of crying. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said any of that." Alexander mumbles pressing his face into Aiden's shoulder, wetting his shirt with tears. Aiden gently pats his head tears also falling freely. "Me too, I'm sorry too."

The two brothers stood there for a minute, comforting each other. It reminded Aiden of when he lost Maria. Alexander would hold him exactly like this and tell him it was going to be okay. Aiden never believed him of course but at the moment it felt nice. Aiden knew this is exactly what Alexander needed right now. Someone to tell him it was ok even if he didn't truly believe it. Their father was a cruel man. Most would even call him mad, but not Alexander. Even though he took the brunt of their father's madness. All the hallucinations, all of the screaming and talking to himself Alexander saw him through it all. People always thought that because he spent so much time with their father he would become like him. Even their own mother thought that. People were scared of him and for that reason, he grew up very isolated. He's always had a hard time dealing with his emotions for that reason too. So whenever he feels something, he feels it intensely. Sometimes a specific feeling will keep him up for days on end. You will almost always see pacing the halls almost religiously. It's a scary thing to witness even for people who are used to it.

Aiden never believed Alexander was like his father. Alexander was way too nice to be like their father. But now the kindness seems to be slowly disintegrating. Aiden hopes this is only temporary. For his and the children's sake. Aiden doesn't want Cole and Victoria to grow up as they did. They deserved better than that. He hopes that if Leah is alive, she finds her way home soon. If not only to save him but Alexander as well.


	8. Chapter 8

Three years go by and Alexander's mental state gets worse. His obsession with finding Leah gets worse. In the past three years, he has taken down kingdom after kingdom. Slaughtering thousands upon thousands and taking their land. He's merciless, people have started calling him the phantom. The only time he goes out is when he goes into battle then he disappears, like a phantom. The only other time people see him is when he goes on a carriage ride through the village. Looking at him now his people are horrified. His skin is paler than ever, the dark bags under his eyes are the only thing giving him any color. He's gotten thinner and his vibrant hazel eyes have dulled. He always has a far off look in his eye like he's not really there. Physically he's present but mentally he's somewhere far away. He stays up for days on end, no food, no water, no sleep. Just mindlessly pacing the castle. Like a ghost haunting the halls. He sometimes talks to himself, claiming he sees Leah but no ones there. Sometimes he runs through the halls screaming her name. He even has a shrine dedicated to her where he spends most of his time.

Aiden tries to help the best he can but he can only do so much. On the rare occasion that Alexander does get sleep, it's a fitful one and he always wakes up screaming. Aiden is usually there to calm him down when he does. The only time Alexander is of sound mind is when he is with his children. Alexander tries his best to be a good father to Cole and Victoria but isn't always able to. He gets angry at the slightest drop of a hat and sometimes his children are at the receiving of his rath. When that happens Aiden is always there to comfort the kids and reassure them that their father still loves them. Cole is now thirteen and Victoria eleven. Since Alexander's mental state is in such poor shape Aiden has been taking over some royal duties. Aiden's also been teaching Cole how to do some of these royal duties. Preparing him for when he shall be crowned king. Which might be sooner than they think. Aiden hopes Alexander will at least last long enough for Cole to have more time to prepare. With the way things are going though Aiden tries not to get his hopes too high.

Alexander is currently sitting in Leah's shrine head in his hands mumbling to himself. "You know, this shrine isn't going to help anything." A voice comes from beside him. He knows this voice very well. "Go away, you aren't real" Alexander mumbles. "Of course I'm not real Alexander," Leah says from beside him. Alexander places his hands over his ears in an attempt to block her out. "Go away, go away, go away," He whispers hitting his head with every word. "You know that won't help either" Leah sighs staring at him sadly. "Nothing will help, will it," he asks. Leah shakes her head "there is one thing. If you're willing to try it." Alexander looks at her and frantically nods. "Yes, anything I-" "let me go, Alexander." Leah says not giving him a chance to speak. Alexander's eyes widen in horror "what? No, I could never!" He exclaims trying to grab her hands from her lap. Though he tries his hardest to touch her his hand seems to phase right through her. "Please stop this Alexander. It's been three years. You have to let me go. If not for your own sake then for our children's sake. They need their father!" Leah pleads getting in her knees in front of him. Alexander shakes his head "they need their mother more than their father." 

Leah rolls her eyes "Alexander just admit it! I'm dead and there's nothing you can do about it." Alexander stands aggressively running his hand through his graying hair. "NO don't say that. You are not dead." "Come on, you didn't even love me. The only reason you're acting like this is because you feel bad." Leah stands up and looks him in the eye. "That's not true, I did love you. I just didn't have enough time to show it." He says making her scoff "YOU HAD ELEVEN YEARS! Eleven years is plenty of time to show someone you love them. But no you went and spent all your time away to god knows where doing god knows what. Honestly, I wonder how many girls you let throw themselves on you. I mean why not right so many pretty girls just ready and waiting. Much better than the disappointment of a wife you had at home." Leah glares at Alexander, eyes full of rage. Alexander gasps "Leah I would never do that to you and you know that." This makes Leah burst into laughter "really? Because the last time I checked, I never really knew you at all."

Alexander's heart breaks with every word. "I know and I'm sorry. I promise I'm going to find you and when I do I'm going to give you all the love you deserve." He tries to reach for her hands again but just like before his hand's phase right through her. "Alexander, please just let me go! Admit that you never loved me and get over your guilt. There's nothing you can do about it now, I'm gone. You're never going to find me. All you're doing is making other people suffer. Stop being so selfish and think about other people for once." Leah yells making Alexander pull at his hair aggressively. In his frantic state Alexander doesn't notice that he's pulling tiny clumps of hair out of his head. It's not enough to create major bald spots but enough to make his scalp bleed. "Look at what you're doing to yourself, Alexander. This is not healthy." She walks closer to him putting her hands on his face. "I'm sorry," Alexander slowly takes his slightly bloodied hands out of his hair. Leah smiles sadly up at him. She looked so sad, he didn't want her to be sad. He can feel the sensation of her stroking his cheek with her thumb. But he can't feel the warmth of her hands. Was she always this cold? Every time he tries to touch her he always phases through her. How is she able to touch him?

"Let me go, Alexander. You'll feel so much better when you do." Leah whispers pressing her forehead to his. Alexander shakes his head "I can't, not now. I'm so close I know I can find you." He whispers back a tear falling down his cheek. "You really aren't going to give up are you?" She asks backing away. Alexander shudders at the loss of her touch unconsciously leaning in to try and get it back. "I love you." He mumbles "no you don't" Leah shakes her head dismissively. "Yes I do, I love you, I love you, I love you." Alexander keeps trying to grab her, to hold onto her. All his efforts come to nothing as he keeps phasing through her. "If that were true, why didn't you say that while I was alive." With those final words, Leah disappears leaving Alexander to grab at the air. "Leah? W-where did you go? Don't leave me. Leah! LEAH!" Alexander shouts quickly running out the door of the shrine. Running through the halls Alexander screams frantically. Where could she have gone? She couldn't leave him like this, She couldn't. Turning the corner leading to the east wing he sees her. Standing there still as a statue. Alexander screams her name running towards her but as soon as he sees her she disappears. "COME BACK, COME BACK PLEASE!" He cries punching the wall in rage.

Aiden hears the commotion and comes running. When he sees Alexander frantically screaming and punching the wall he knows exactly what happened. Rushing over to Alexander Aiden quickly grabs him from behind and drags him away from the wall. Alexander's hand is bloody and bruised. Possibly broken with the way it's swelling. Alexander continues to scream and Aiden roughly wraps his arms around his brother in an attempt to calm him. Aiden proceeds to whisper calming words into Alexander's ear until he finally calms down and collapses. A few hours later Aiden is sitting by Alexander's bed with his head in his hands. Aiden has lost all hope for Alexander. Aiden has always looked up to Alexander since he was a small child. Never in a million years did he think Alexander would end up like this. A shell of a once great and mighty king. Aiden sighs lifting his head up and looking at his older brother sadly. Things weren't supposed to be this way. Aiden quickly wipes away the tears forming when he sees Alexander's eyes open. Alexander groans placing his hand on his head. "What happened?" He asks looking over at Aiden.

"Do you not remember?" Aiden asks with a monotone voice. Alexander is quiet for a moment collecting his thoughts. "I remember having a fight with Leah." Aiden sighs exasperatedly "really Alex? Do we have to go over it again? Leah's gone okay! She's not coming back." "You don't understand Aiden I saw her. She was there- she touched my face-" Aiden stands, not willing to put up with his brother's fantasies anymore. "NO-NO SHE DIDN'T ALEX! She was never there she's been gone for years. I know you're hurting and don't want to accept the facts. This hurts me just as much as it hurts you. The only thing keeping me going is those children. HER children, and as much as you hate to admit it they're yours too." Alexander is stunned by Aiden's words. "You like to act like you loved her so much but in reality, you didn't. All you did was act like a judgemental jealous idiot. I was the one who was there for her. I held her when she was sad, I made her laugh. I relished every single second with her while you sat and treated her as if she didn't exist. You didn't deserve her, I did. I should've been the one to marry her, not you." Aiden is left huffing for air by the end of his rant. He shakes his head at Alexander in disappointment quickly leaving the room.

Alexander is left lying in bed stunned. His eyes so wide you'd think they were going to pop out of his head. He didn't know Aiden felt that way. He can't say he was shocked to find out though. Alexander was only shocked that his brother had basically screamed in his face. Aiden was usually so respectful. Aiden must have had more pent up anger then Alexander thought. The guilt Alexander feels seems to grow in size. Alexander clutches his chest in pain tears falling silently out of his eyes. Aiden was right, Alexander didn't deserve Leah. But that didn't mean he was going to give up.


	9. Chapter 9

The days came and went but that made no difference to Alexander. After Aiden's outburst, Alexander went into a deeper depression than ever before. The king had become completely unresponsive. All he did was lay in bed and stare at the ceiling. If it wasn't for the handmaids forcing him up to feed and bathe him he would've died surrounded by his own filth. Aiden gave up trying to care for Alexander deciding to instead focus completely on the children. Aiden couldn't handle Alexander's delusions anymore. It was tearing him apart from the inside out having to hear about HER every time he started to heal. It was killing him to have to wake up every day knowing he couldn't save her. He never should've gone with Alexander on that trip. If he could go back in time he wouldn't have. There are many things Aiden regrets but most of all he regrets not telling Leah how he felt. Aiden's hair had become unkempt since Leah disappeared. His eyes while nowhere near as bad as the kings were sunken in. He didn't bother with his clothes leaving them wrinkled and stained. Fashion didn't interest him anymore. He had no one to impress so why try at all.

The entire kingdom felt the passing of their beloved queen. There wasn't a day that went by she wasn't mourned. The people respected their queen greatly. Her kind and gentle heart touched many. Even after all these years the kingdom still loved their queen. They felt sorry for their king. Seeing him in such a state after losing a loved one made them hold theirs even closer. Alexander's hair grew so unruly the handmaid's debated cutting it all off but decided against it. Instead, they continue to trim it to a proper length just above his shoulders. One day, while Alexander was laying Victoria came into the room and sat beside him on his bed. "Daddy?" She says with a quiet voice. Alexander slowly looks over to her but doesn't say anything. Victoria looks down and plays with the stack of papers in her hand before speaking again. "I found these papers. I-I think mommy wrote on them. It looks like mommy's handwriting but I'm not sure." Victoria softly places the letters on her father's chest. "Do you think you could read them to me? I would read them myself but they're too many big words I can't understand." She looks down twiddling her thumbs awaiting her father's answer. She hoped he couldn't tell she was lying. She could read it perfectly. She just wanted some time with her dad.

Slowly moving his hand Alexander shakily picks up the papers. Lo and behold it was Leah's messy handwriting. He remembered her telling him she liked writing poetry but he was too stupid to try and read it. Leah's handwriting was messy but not too hard to read. He wonders why Victoria can't read it. Victoria is a smart girl, big words never bothered her before, why would they now? Alexander doesn't question her though not wanting to scare her away. "I would love to sweetie." He spoke for the first time in months. His voice was raspy and low. Victoria thinks for a moment that he sounds like a frog. The thought almost makes her laugh. Alexander opens his arms for Victoria to crawl into. Curling up on her father's chest she smiles contently. As Alexander begins to read his throat aches from being neglected for so long. The poem reads:

"If I tell you I love you, I may fall apart.  
For the love that I feel is not what's in your heart.  
I'd ask you to give us a chance even if just for a day.  
But I fear that my love for you may scare you away.  
They say love has no limits I say neither does the pain.  
For loving someone who does not love you back is  
more excruciating than anyone can explain."

Alexander continues reading the many poems Leah wrote. Some of them like the first one, others a lot happier. Reading all of these gave Alexander an indescribable feeling. He felt guilty for putting Leah through so much pain but he also felt pride. Pride that she was able to turn such horrible pain into art. Alexander wishes he could do that. Turn the pain that he is feeling into something good. By the time he was done reading all of the poems, Victoria had fallen asleep. Alexander smiles down at her, he missed this. Ever since her birthday three years ago Victoria has been a lot quieter and reserved. Alexander doesn't blame her for that, who knows what type of horrible things she witnessed that night. Softly stroking her hair an idea suddenly makes its way into Alexander's head. He wasn't going to sit and mope anymore. It's been three years, it's time to move on.

Not to say he's giving up. Alexander could never give up on finding his beloved. He can't keep obsessing over it though. He can't keep doing that to his children. They've suffered enough. It's time to get up and start being the father his kids deserve. Start being the king his kingdom deserves. The very next day Alexander slowly gets out of bed. His muscles shivering and aching from not having moved on their own in so long. Alexander was determined to work through the pain. Nothing was going to stop him from getting better. Slowly but surely Alexander walks into the hallway. A handmaid sees him and gasps. Hurridly rushing to his side to help back to bed, the king raises his hand to stop her. He had to do this. The maid stops in her tracks unsure of what to do. Alexander ignores her, determined to walk by himself. He makes his way to Aiden's door. Alexander knocks on the door as hard as he can wanting Aiden to come to the door quickly. 

As soon as Aiden opens the door the weak king falls into his arms. "I'm sorry," the king whispers as Aiden struggles to hold him up in shock. Aiden says nothing as he gently drags his older brother over to lay on his bed. Alexander sighs in relief after he is laid in his brother's bed his aching muscles finally able to rest. "I truly am sorry," he says confusing Aiden. "Sorry about what?" The younger brother asks "about everything". Aiden's eyes widen, his brother had really taken the trek down to his room just to apologize? "You realize you could have just called me up to your room. You didn't need to strain yourself just to come and apologize." As angry as he was at Alexander, Aiden could never stand to see him in pain. "Yes, I did, the way I have been treating you is nothing short of cruel. You don't deserve that. Nobody deserves that." Alexander weakly reaches for Aiden's hand who eagerly grabs it. "I'm going to be better I swear it to you. Not only for you but for my children and the kingdom. It's going to take some work but I am willing to try. That is if your willing to help me. I know I don't deserve it but-" Aiden's heart leaps for joy at these words. "Nothing would bring me greater joy than helping you brother." 

After that Alexander worked tirelessly to get back on his feet. With the help of Aiden, it only took six months before he walk on his own without collapsing. It would still be a while before he was completely healthy again but it was a start. As soon as Alexander was healthy enough he told his servants to go saddle up some horses. He also told Aiden to have the kids meet him outside. He was going to take the children out for a ride. When the children came outside Alexander smiled widely. Over the last few months, Alexander has been working hard on not only making himself stronger but also his relationship with his children. The eleven-year-old Victoria was easy in accepting his apology having immediately thrown herself in his arms as soon as he said it. Thirteen-year-old Cole on the other hand was harder to convince. Cole was a lot like his father in the sense that forgiveness didn't come easy to him. He doesn't hold a grudge like his father does but you certainly have to work for his forgiveness. That's exactly what Alexander did. It's still a work in progress. Looking at his children's faces he sees Victoria excitedly looking around while Cole looks more suspicious. 

"Are you two ready for an adventure?" Alexander asks excitedly. "Where are we going exactly father?" Cole asks crossing his arms looking oh so much like his mother. "Didn't you hear uncle Aiden, Cole? It's a SURPRISE." Victoria says excitedly gripping his arm. Alexander smiles fondly at them. "I won't tell you where we are going but I will give you a hint. Its the place where I first fell in love with your mother." Alexander's smile grows as his daughter squeals in delight. "Well, we better get going if we want to get there before sundown." Alexander quickly loads Victoria onto his horse while Cole got his own. They begin riding out in comfortable silence. "So, Cole, I heard your uncle has been giving you lessons in horseback riding," Alexander says making the boy stiffly nod. "Yes, only because you weren't there to do it yourself" he grumbles. Alexander sighs "how many times do I have to say sorry for you to believe it, Cole?" "Until you can make it sound believable." Cole quips shooting a cold look towards his father. The silence they were riding in suddenly became a lot less comfortable. Victoria shifted in the saddle uncomfortably. She didn't like it when her father and Cole fought.

In the distance, the children could see a sign. The laughter of other children getting louder and louder as the sign gets closer. "Mrs. June's orphanage? Are you giving us up for adoption daddy?" Victoria asks horrified "I knew it! I knew we couldn't trust you!" Cole exclaims making Alexander let out a hearty laugh. "I'm not giving you up for adoption. Here is where I fell in love with your mother." Victoria lets out a loud gasp at his words "HERE!" She all but screams "hehehe, yes here." Alexander elegantly hops off his horse helping Victoria off as well. Walking up to the gate he looks through at all the kids playing. Memories flow through his head making him tear up. "I remember when I brought your mother here, we rode on our horses. It was our first time riding together. I promised that I'd ride with her months earlier but got caught up in my own selfish thoughts to fulfill it until your uncle knocked some sense into me." Alexander chuckled as the children stared him in wonder. "I still remember the exact look on her face when I brought her here. She was so filled with wonder and amazement. The children immediately took to her. She played with them for hours." A tear finds its way down Alexander's cheek.

"One moment. One moment was all it took for me to fall in love. All she had to do was look back at me with those red cheeks and beautiful smile of hers and I knew I was gone." More tears were finding their way down Alexander's face when Cole grabbed his shoulder. "You really did love mother didn't you?" He asks, Alexander lets out a breathy laugh. "Yes, but I was too much of a jealous fool to show it." Alexander wipes his tears away ashamed that he had just let his children see him cry. "Umm, daddy? Can we go play with those kids too? Just like mommy did!" Victoria asks grabbing his hand. "Of course you can sweetheart." Before Alexander could even blink Victoria shot through the gates of the orphanage Cole chasing after her. 

As he stood at the gates of the place he held so dearly in his heart watching his beloved children play with the others. He couldn't help but feel truly happy for the first time since Leah's disappearance. In the corner of his eye, he could see her. Smiling from ear to ear at the sound of her children's laughter. It made him have hope. Maybe just maybe, everything was going to be okay.


End file.
